opbmusic first went live in January 2008, with a 24-hour music channel available for streaming via our website and over HD Radio. Listeners could follow a Northwest-centric playlist in real time online, rate the songs, and check out the first handful of studio sessions we recorded at OPB starting in the summer of ‘07. Laura Veirs, by the way, played our very first session. We also recorded early sessions with Blitzen Trapper, Langhorne Slim, and The Shaky Hands. The Avett Brothers played our studios that year, still hoarse from a late night set at Pickathon a few hours earlier. And The National played a uniquely stripped-down set for us while touring their now-classic album, “Boxer.”

Kelli Schaefer and her band

Eric Tra/Courtesy of the artist

Since 2008, by the numbers, our DJs have played almost 100-thousand hours of music to your ears, and that includes thousands of songs by local artists — often as the very first outlet to give those artists a chance to be heard on the radio. Looking back at our first year on the air, the song we played the most that year was “Hallelujah” by local duo The Helio Sequence. So it makes perfect sense that they’d headline our 10th anniversary concert.

Portland artist Natasha Kmeto

Effixx/Courtesy of the artist

Join us on Friday night March 23rd at 8pm at the Crystal Ballroom, for a lineup of Portland bands we love. The evening starts with the soulful electro-pop of Natasha Kmeto, then the force of nature that is Kelli Schaefer and her band, and finally the kinetic indie rock duo of The Helio Sequence to close out this special night.

Tickets go on sale today (Feb 9) at noon and they’re available from the Crystal Ballroom box office and events page. Put the date in your calendar. We’ll see you there!

Kelli Schaefer - Big Black Box (opbmusic)

Kelli Schaefer plays songs from her new release, No Identity, in the opbmusic studio. Subscribe to our channel to see all our new videos. See the full Kelli Schaefer session: http://www.opb.org/opbmusic/series/sessions/kelli-schaefer-live-at-opb/

Natasha Kmeto - I Thought You Had a Boyfriend (opbmusic)

Subscribe to our channel for more session videos! Natasha Kmeto plays "I Thought You Had a Boyfriend" for opbmusic 8-25-15.